This novel offers relatable, three-dimensional characters considering identity, who will teach readers about colorism’s effects. In this middle grade novel, Rhodes tells the story of two biracial brothers, Donte and Trey, navigating racism, colorism, and bullying.
#HIGH SCHOOL DREAMS OF ANARCHY COMING TRUE FULL#
See our full starred review.īy Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown, Mar. Despite their differences, the two become fast friends just as Alberta’s lifelong best friend, who is white, begins drifting toward the popular girl who has bullied Alberta with racist taunts for years. In this middle grade debut from Colbert, 12-year-old surfing fanatic Alberta and her fathers are the only Black family in their California neighborhood, until the Whitmans, including 12-year-old goth Edie, buy the B&B across the street. See our full starred review.īy Brandy Colbert (Little, Brown, Mar. This story captures the tensions that come with being a person of color in a traditionally white space. When he’s not being confused with the few other students of color, he is spoken to in slang, receives looks when financial aid is mentioned, or is forced to navigate many more micro-aggressions. In this Newbery-winning graphic novel, African American new kid Jordan Banks would rather go to art school, but his parents have enrolled him at the rigorous Riverdale Academy Day School, so he dutifully commutes to the Bronx from his home in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Then she resolves to set limits, and, in speaking up for herself, she begins to feel free, respected, and in charge of her own body again. See our full starred review.īy Sharee Miller (Little, Brown, 2018, $17.99, 9780316562584, ages 4-8)Īfrican American Aria is proud of her showstopping hair “that grows up toward the sun like a flower.” But people keep confusing admiration with acquiescence: strangers, she laments, “are so curious about my hair that they try to touch it without even asking for permission!” It feels like the entire universe has lost its sense of boundaries. His story highlights the importance of community and inclusive sex education, as well as the freedom to define oneself outside of society’s conditioning. Johnson’s debut is a collection of heartfelt personal essays revolving around themes of identity and family and his experience growing up Black and queer in New Jersey and Virginia. In five sections, Reynolds discusses the influential figures, movements, and events that have propagated racist ideas, beginning in 1415 with the publication of the infamous work that laid the groundwork for subsequent religious justifications of enslaving African peoples and continuing through the “war on drugs” and #BlackLivesMatter. Reynolds lends his signature flair to remixing Kendi’s award-winning Stamped from the Beginning into a powerful “not a history book” primer on the historical roots and present-day manifestations of antiblack racism in America.